A Loveless Meal

Chapter 12: Be My Boyfriend?

Stopping outside of the apartment, Rody let Vincent get off the bike first before following suit, propping it up against the restaurant and taking his guitar case back.

No one seemed to be waiting outside and Rody felt his shoulders relax. He'd hoped they would have a second to talk before everyone showed up. He wanted to ask about what happened at the restaurant... He kind of hoped he was wrong and that was just a weird coincidence. But he really didn't think so and he wasn't sure how he'd feel if he found out Vince really had forced his way through it till he got sick. Just the idea of it made his stomach sink...

As he turned around though, Vincent was already walking into his apartment. "Come on. Let's go get everything ready."

Resigning himself to having to wait till later to ask, Rody merely sighed and trudged along behind him.

Flicking on lights as he went, Vincent made a beeline straight for the kitchen where he began to pull covered platters out of the fridge. They all seemed to be hors d'oeuvres that should be served cold: Escargots, a cheese platter, and deviled eggs. Uncovering them and setting them out on the counter, he moved onto going through a cabinet.

After a few seconds of rummaging, he turned to look at Rody, his face giving no hint as to his feelings.
"Do you prefer red or white?"

Rody blinked. "Huh?"

Rolling his eyes, Vincent frowned at him. "Wine, Lamoree. Red or white wine?"

Rody made a small sound of understanding and thought for a moment, chewing on his thumb as he contemplated. "Uhh... I mean.. I'll be honest, I don't really know the difference, they both just kinda taste like bitter fruit?" he answered slowly.

Vincent stared at him, nonplussed. He opened his mouth as if to respond a few times, but ultimately just shook his head and turned back to the cabinet. Pulling down a large wine bottle with dark label, he set it on the counter and dug around in a drawer for a corkscrew. "When they get here, I need you to offer each guest a snack. If they don't want one, see if they want one of the others."

Rody watched him struggle with the cork, even with the corkscrew. Vince's thin arms trembled with the effort and he clenched his jaw as he strained.

Wordlessly, Rody took the wine bottle from Vince and pulled the cork out in one swift motion before offering it back to him. "Am I bringing them wine too?"

Vincent's eyes widened as he took the wine bottle back, traveling over the strong biceps he knew to be hidden beneath Rody's unflattering clothes. ".. No, I don't trust you to carry several fragile glasses. I have no doubt in my mind that you wouldn't even make it 5 feet before you broke something."

Rody grimaced at him, indignancy painted across his face. "Wow, you have so much faith in me. Incredible." he drawled.

Vincent shrugged. They both knew he was right.

Rody shifted awkwardly as he grew more somber, rubbing his neck. "So uh.. Vince, I meant to ask you... About earlier in the restaurant-"

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Looking up from where he was pouring a glass of wine, Vincent grunted. "Ah, that would be them. I'll go answer to the door. You finish up here. Fill the rest of these and then start bringing out the hors d'oeuvres." he said, filling the glass halfway before striding to the living room.

The sound of quiet chatter filtered in from the other room and Rody looked down at his task. He had to fill 7 more wine glasses since Vince had already handled the first one. Though, looking at it more closely... Huh. He only filled it halfway. Guess he forgot to fill it the rest of the way because the guests arrived... he thought, deciding to be a pal and top it off for him. It'd be embarrassing to serve half-filled glasses, right?